Page 32 of A Miracle for the Confident Cowboy

“You two… when… how?” Pippa moved closer to Sophie and shut the door behind her. “How far has it gone?” When Sophie didn’t answer, Pippa sighed. “Oh, sweetie.”

Sophie looked away. “It’s still new. It’s not serious enough that it should even be an issue.”

Pippa’s look of disbelief made it clear she didn’t buy that for a second. “You can’t lie to me, Sophie. I know you don’t think we’re that close… and I know I’ve been a little absent lately… but seriously, even I can tell something is bothering you about this whole thing. Is it Duke? Youdidtell him, didn’t you? He didn’t seriously get mad at you for it, did he? I can’t picture him being like that?—”

“I haven’t told him yet.”

Pippa’s frown deepened. “But I thought…” Her eyes searched the floor as if she’d find the answers to her confusion there. “Have you decided what you’re going to do? You’re still taking the opportunity, right?” The concern in her voice made it clear she might be worried about Sophie giving it all up.

Sophie turned from Pippa and moved into her small kitchen. “Are you thirsty? I’m thirsty.”

Pippa followed her into the kitchen. “It’s been almost a week. You said you were going to make a decision by now. Did he say something? I swear, if he?—”

Sophie shook her head. “He didn’t say anything. Like I said, I didn’t tell him yet.”

“Why not? Based on that look on your face, I think you two have gotten close enough to warrant that sort of conversation.”

She turned to face Pippa, heart aching. “Because I’mscared.”

Understanding flooded Pippa’s face. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Sophie wheezed, “Oh.” She dragged a hand down her face and heaved another sigh but her lungs still ached as if she hadn’t been breathing since the moment Pippa had arrived. “Everything was going so well. We were so close. I could see…” Her eyes darted to Pippa. “I could actually see a future with him.” This time she covered her face with both of her hands. “It sounds so ridiculous now.”

Pippa’s soft touch on Sophie’s shoulder grounded her. “It’s anything but ridiculous,” she murmured. “Sometimes love comes quietly, growing slowly over time. Others…” she shrugged. “Sometimes it hits us in the chest like buckshot, knocking us over and setting our world on fire.”

Sophie fought the emotion she’d been holding back. All of this felt so strange to be talking about. She’d expected Pippa to laugh at her and tell her that she was being ridiculous. Pippa was a romantic in a lot of aspects. Sophie wouldn’t have been surprised if Pippa told her that she could have it all. She just needed to play her cards right.

Instead, Pippa was being so… understanding.

“What do you want to do?” Pippa asked quietly. “If everything worked out the way you wanted it to, what would happen?”

Sophie thought for a moment, her heart fluttering at the thought of trying to have it all. But that wasn’t possible. Duke had already said he didn’t like the idea of long distance. He also wasn’t a fan of her career. She shook her head. “Duke wouldn’t?—”

“I didn’t ask what Duke would do. I asked you what you would want. If you threw a coin in that wishing well, what would you say?”

She let out a sad laugh. “That wishing well is the most foolish thing in this town. I don’t know why you insist on throwing away your hard-earned money on?—”

“I’m not going to debate the good or the evil of the wishing well with you again. Please answer the question.”

Sophie started at her friend’s firm voice. Pippa wasn’t pulling any punches with her line of questioning. “If I could have it my way, I’d beg him to try to make us work.” The words were a whisper as if saying them out loud would take away any possibility of it coming true.

Pippa’s expression softened. “So ask him.”

Once again, Sophie shook her head. “You don’t know him like I do. He’s going through something right now. For me to ask him something like that… to put more on his plate—” She knew she couldn’t do that. Duke didn’t need that right now. He needed support.

“You never know unless you ask.” She said it softly, quiet enough that Sophie wasn’t sure she’d heard it. “I know about his family,” Pippa continued. “And I heard about Gus. If what you’re sayingis true and you two are that close, then I think you need to tell him. And make sure you tell him how you feel. It takes two people to make a long distance relationship work and it takes two to let it fail. It’s not like you’re moving away. And it’s only a short trip in the grand scheme of time.”

“I don’t know that,” Sophie muttered.

Pippa’s eyes widened. “Really?”

The excitement in her voice was unmistakable.

“Sophie! That would be amazing.”

She knew that, which was why this issue was so problematic.

“Hey,” her friend murmured, drawing her attention. “Whatever you decide, you need to give him a chance to be part of the decision. You can’t throw up your walls and push him out. That’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to you.” Those words reverberated in Sophie’s head, bouncing around and making her feel even worse about holding back this information.

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